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Unveiling Ghosts: Paranormal Investigations From Around the World
Unveiling Ghosts was a book written by Savannah Woodham, a 'Paranormal Investigator'. She was in the middle of writing a sequel, but something scared her from finishing it. The Book Table of Contents: # Introduction IV # A Month in the Haunted Steppes 1 # Riding through Phantom Pass 25 # The Breathing Mansion in Booker, MA 38 # The Spirits of the Civil War 72 # The Ryokan Hiei 104 # The Ghosts of Centralia, PA 109 Chapter Six: The Ryokan Hiei Japan, to a girl who grew barefoot on a creaky old house in Savannah, is just about the most exotic place there is on earth. Sometimes in the middle of a stormy night, when the wind is whistling and the tree branches are scratching at the windows, I feel like I am back at the Ryokan Hiei. On those nights, I often wish I'd never visited that charming looking inn on the outskirts of Kyoto.' ''The second I stepped inside the ryokan's gate, I suddenly understood why I had been called in. For those of you who have never been in a haunted place, the feeling is unmistakable. Imagine the sensation of taking a rickety rollercoaster through a dense fog, now multiply that tenfold. The atmosphere of the ryokan, however, was even thicker. The inn was washed in an unearthly sense of cold that the fire pit in the lobby couldn't touch. the whole structure radiated uncertainty and dread. Something terrible lived here.' ''The inn was, and still is, run by a truly wonderful family. Takae and her granddaughter Miwako took excellent care of Logan and I, but were both extremely tight lipped about the history of the ryokan. A neighbor boy, Rentarno was able to shed a little light on the situation. The innkeeper's daughter, Kasumi, had recently died under mysterious circumstances. '' ''Ever since her death, the inn began to change rapidly for the worse. Takae had begun to worry that her daughter's yurei was haunting the ryokan.'' ''I set up my equipment right away. Luckily I had my entire EVP* kit at the ready. I placed the microphones in places where I felt the greatest disturbances - by the fire pit in the lobby, behind the old cherry tree in the gardens, by both baths and in the upstairs hallways. Sound travels very well in the old ryokan, so my equipment picked up more conversations than usual, but nothing supernatural. At two AM, however, that all changed. The lights in my room suddenly flickered and cut off. I rushed downstairs to my recorders. I couldn't hear a thing, but the readings were off the charts.' ''Before I could listen to the audio, I saw her. Pale and thin, with long black hair, dripping muddy water, moving through the shadows. Despite my experience, I froze as she slipped out of sight. I stood there in the lobby until the sun finally came up, half hoping she would reappear, and the other half desperately hoping to never see her again.''' ''Takae woke me that afternoon. We had to leave. Kasumi, she said, had changed her mind. Whatever faith Takae had in me the day before was now gone. I doubt I was the only one to see a ghost the night before. I gave her my card and told her to call me back if she ever changes her mind. I doubt she will, and I have to admit I'm relieved.' ''On the bus to the temple the next morning, I reviewed the EVP tapes. What I heard sounded like a hundred voices, repeating a single word in Japanese. I pulled out my transliterated phrasebook. The word simply meant "leave." It's the kind of message you only want to hear when you're long gone. I still sometimes worry about the Shimizu family, and can't help but wonder what it must be like for them during those long nights when the woman in the shadows is awake.'''' Category:Shadow at the Water's Edge Category:Entertainment